Absolute Zero
by FMAPokeWarrior
Summary: When a do-or-die situation forces Ren to relive a nightmare she thought was gone from her life forever, how will she cope? Join her through enemies, friends, and a mysterious man as she discovers her true origins. Rated T just to be safe.
1. The Chapter in Which There is a Prologue

_"Who are _you_?"_

_"I reside deep in your memories, child. Please don't tell me you've forgotten. If anything I should be asking you a similar question."_

_"Excuse me? Are you with the government or something?"_

_"If you know absolute truth, you should respect me. I can allow you to see and experience phenomenon no human ever thought possible."_

_"Um...do you want to talk to my mom? I'm not supposed to talk to people I don't know, and-"_

_"Ah, you foolish child. Have you no idea of your true origins? The lie you've been living since you were none but a young seed?"_

_"Okay, then. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to lea-nng! Let me-!_

_"Ah ah ah. Since your residual mind is still fresh, the inner wisdom has not yet emerged. Whether you like it or not, I will release the stream of energy flowing deep within you. You will finally know what true power is."_

_"Mmd mmph mmh mm mm-"_

_"Quiet, you! Now hold still!"_

_"Oh my god - Ren!"_

_"MMPH!"_

_"Do not interfere, daft female. This creature is not your daughter which you have come to cherish. There has been a parasite-"_

_"Mm, MMPH!"_

_"Ah, I had hoped you would cooperate, my dear. Your incompetence seems to have left me no choice."_

_"MMMMH?"_

_"_Zhinta nare lileth sen. Gakke ti onore quazhin, sohmaka irune shime!_"_

_"NNNNGH! MMMMM...ah?"_

_"You bastard! What the hell did you do to my daughter?!"_

_"Oh little old me? I simply transmitted the ancient knowledge needed to unlock her...natural state. In fact, you can begin to see the changes now."_

_"Renee! Ren! Sweetie, can you hear me? Oh no..."_

_"A-mom...ma? Gyah!_

_"Ren, I swear you're going to be fine. Just breath: in and out, in and...out?"_

_"Why must you make promises you can't keep? Those efforts are futile; she is far beyond reason, even of adopted kin."_

_"Meh...mahhh!"_

_"...Baby..."_

_"Pathetic. Did you even realize what occurred that night, six years ago? The one you dared to call your daughter was killed. Murdered, by the monster you see before you, who simply pretended to remain the same as you knew. Of course, you gullible creatures wouldn't notice something as drastic with such short and simple life spans. It's a shame I've ever had the misfortune of encountering your barbaric race. Oh, look at the time. I suppose I'll be going now. Good day, if you survive, that is."_

_"Mom...ma..."_

_"What? What is it, Ren?"_

_"I'm...sor...raaaaAAAHHH!"_

_"No...not my...baby..."_

* * *

**Hello there, and welcome to my new story: Absolute Zero! Because of this thing called life, I may or may not upload very often, but eventually I'll establish a consistent schedule. Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Chapter Where Something is Finished

_Tzing!_

"GAH MY EYES!" Fluorescent cyan lights flooded my room, unfiltered by the thin flowered curtains that adorned my two windows. The sudden outburst threw me out of bed, and I landed gently on the carpet. I squinted at the brightness that came from the windows when a sudden realization hit me: It was done.

I bounded up to the bench in front of my window, and brushed away the curtain to reveal a neon STARK gracing the top of the opposing building. My mouth widened into a large grin, as I sat down on the cushion, marvelling for a few moments at the grandiose building.

Although it didn't quite rival the trademark New York skyscrapers that were abundant in the tourist-attracted city, I still had to crane my neck slightly to get a full scale view of the tower, Stark tower. For the past six months, I had been plagued with insomnia from the almost non-stop construction of my dad's employer's New York settlement. I heard in a few years he was planning to expand the system of towers through the country in order to promote his company's name in clean energy production.

"May they rest in peace." I giggled a bit at the quiet mutter based on my own experiences. My thoughts were interrupted by a soft yawn, and I stretched, slowly blinking my eyes.

"Renny?" I turned to the timid sound, and standing in my door frame was Kylee, rubbing her own large brown eyes. The puppy eyes, I called them, as whenever she used them, anything of her desire was given. Nobody was safe from the cuteness that was deeply embedded in my four year old sister.

I walked over to Kylee, and replied to her calling, "Yeah, Ky?"

"What's all the yelling 'bout?" she complained, face contorted as she tried to figure out where the brightness obscuring her vision was emanating from. "An' why is it so bright?"

Placing a hand on her bunny pajama-covered back to guide her over to the window, I explained, "It's from Mr. Tony's new tower. He just turned all the lights on, see?" I pulled the curtain back to show Kylee the completed building.

Her eyes blinked multiple times, finally adjusting to the light shining from across the street. An adorable smile crossed her face, for a different reason than mine, however. Every day, she would ask, "Can we go yet? How about now?", and every day Dad and I would reply, "No, not today."

Since we met her a few years, Kylee absolutely adored Ms. Pepper, former unofficial CEO of Stark Industries. She had a point: there was much to love about Tony Stark's partner; she was witty, caring, and faithful, a good match for him indeed. However, the first time the two met, an inner bond was formed immediately, even though my sister was rather young at the time.

"Can we go yet?"

I rolled my eyes at the four year old's incessant questioning, and I walked her back to her room, a little ways down the hall. "Come on, Ky. It's late, and little girls like you should be sleeping. I promise we'll visit them tomorrow okay?"

After turning up her nose at my declination, she gave me a hug, and leaped back into bed. Soon after re-tucking herself into bed, light snores could be heard from her general direction.

Closing the door in order not to wake her, I 180'ed straight into Dad, who wasn't extremely pleased with my previous exclamation.

"Oh, hi dad," I greeted nervously, inching back toward my bedroom.

I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder, a serious voice replacing his usual cheerful tone. "Ren..." he began, and I anticipated the sharp scolding my dad could give when he was irritated, and he sure loved his sleep.

Instead, I was met with a happy-go-lucky sounding, "Do you like it?"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You knew it was going to be finished today? And didn't tell me?" My irritation was met with a sheepish grin on Dad's part, and I gently punched him.

"Did you have any design input?" My tone changed to a more exasperated one, and he shook his head.

"Oh, um, by the way...you're not going to be able to take Ky to the tower tomorrow. Mr. Stark's going on a last minute business trip, and Ms. Potts is out with the rest of the social relations team in DC," my dad explained, and I frowned.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Ehh, Ky's not going to like that. You know she's going to use "the eyes" on us now. Besides, why aren't you in DC?"

"Well someone had to stay here and hold down the fort with the two top dogs away," Dd explained while we walked absentmindedly to my room. "Holy fudge, this place is bright," he noted, covering his eyes with a forearm.

"Maybe when Mr. Tony gets back from his trip, I can get him to engineer some heavy duty iron curtains," I joked, plopping onto my bed. "But seriously, are you sure you had nothing to do with the giant STARK shining into my eyes whenever the sun goes down?"

My dad threw his hands up in innocence. "I know as Stark Industries' head social relations worker it would seem like I'd plaster his name on everything he touches, but this was all his doing."

"Meh," I huffed. "I suppose I'll sleep on the couch till then." I reached out to grab Minnie, my zebra pillow pet, then walked out to the living room, Dad right behind.

"'Atta girl. I knew some of your mother's creativity would rub off on you," he complimented, ruffling my hair.

A sad smile crossed my face, and I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to purge my mind of the depressing thoughts that came with the mention of Mom. "Thanks, Dad," I sighed, grabbed a blanket, then lounged on the couch. Tears had gathered in the corners of my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away due to my promise to myself I wouldn't sulk about it ever again.

'Life sucks,' I thought, as my thoughts drifted off into a pleasant lucid dream.

****


	3. The Chapter Where Someone's Gone Missing

A firm shaking in my left shoulder, and the constant "Renny, wake up," told me it was time to get off my butt and start the day. Usually this was Dad's job, but Kylee beat him to the punch.

I rolled over to face my younger sister, and gave a tired smile. "Ky, it's Saturday, we don't have to get up early."

"But Daddy's gone!" With that all the exhaustion had faded completely, and I was on high alert. Since Dad worked from home, it was unusual for him to leave without telling either of us. I calmed down once I realized Kylee's overactive imagination was taking over.

"I bet he just went shopping or something. You know how he likes going before everyone else," I explained, while Kylee just pouted at the lack of excitement in my explanation. She was so easily amused by creating imaginary events, I figured he wasn't even out.

With my sister in tow, I strode off to his bedroom and glanced around. Sure enough, it was lacking the familiar male figure I loved dearly. "See? Gone!" Kylee shrieked, and I shushed her.

"Here, I'll call him. Will that make you feel better?" I got a vigorous nod as reply, so I picked up the phone and dialed his work cell number, since he always answered it. I crouched down after holding it up to my ear, so Ky could hear it as well. After a few beeps, I concluded he wasn't going to pick up, so I hung up.

Before Kylee's could convince me something horribly wrong happened, I suggested, "One of two things happened: He's either on another call, or got called out in an emergency."

"Call Ms. Pepper!"

I sighed loudly, and dialed the number. After a single ring the phone picked up. "Hello?" came the other end.

"Ms. Pepper? This is Renee Cooper."

"Oh, Ren, how are you?"

"Um, fine, thanks. I was wondering if my dad got called out on an emergency trip. He's not here right now, which is odd."

"I certainly haven't talked to him recently. You tried his work cell?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, I don't know what he could be doing. Hope you figure it out, soon."

I squeezed my eyes shut in disappointment. "Thank you. Have a nice day, Ms. Pepper."

"You too. Goodbye." With that sounded a click from the receiver, and my arm fell limply to my side. I turned around to large eyes looking up at me with curiosity and fear.

"Didja find him? Didja?"

Not wanting to worry my young sister, I replied nervously, "Um, yeah! He's uh...going to Washington DC after all. They called him last night, hehe."

When Kylee gave a satisfactory nod and returned to her room, I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. As if on cue, I heard a distant 'ding', notifying I'd been texted. I dashed to my room in hopes it was Dad.

Flipping it over, I looked at my messages. 'Strange,' I thought, tipping my head at the sender, or lack thereof. Opening it, I found only two words: Stuttgart, tonight. I assumed Stuttgart was a city, where I had no clue. Then I came to the 'tonight' part. Did it want me to go there tonight? I mulled over my options, and decided to first off figure out where Stuttgart was.

After a good fifteen minutes of research, I discovered many things about the rather large city located in Germany, including upcoming events, the soonest one occurring that night involving some professor who worked with rare metals and ores. I rested my chin in my palm in an attempt to fit the pieces together.

So far, I concluded that Dad wasn't picking up his phone, he disappeared mysteriously without warning, and I received a text telling me a time and a place. The only logical conclusion I could create was that he was kidnapped, but a plethora of other questions took its place. Why today? Did it have to do with that scientist guy's fancy party? Why Dad, and not someone more important?

I sighed in frustration, and slammed my head onto my desk. When I lifted my head, a small patch of ice remained in its place. I let out a loud groan, causing Kylee to yell from her room, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry," I yelled back, but in truth, I really wasn't fine. With a kidnapped father, a sister completely oblivious to the fact, and virtually no one to help, I figured I could get a snack to keep my mind off of things.

Lifting myself off of the chair, I made headway to the kitchen, and grabbed a popsicle from the freezer. Popsicles always managed to calm me down, since I had quite the taste for frozen foods. I re-entered my room, and noticed I hadn't taken care of the patch of ice on my desk. Before I could unfreeze it, a thought crossed my mind that nearly stopped my breath. Something I swore never to do again. But was it worth it to save my Dad's life that may be hanging in the balance?

I waved a hand over the ice, and it disappeared. My elbow took place where the desk had been frozen, and I stared at the ceiling hoping some magic solution would crash through the ceiling and solve my dilemma. A cold prickling feeling arose in my chest, like it usually did when I was tense or frustrated.

Subconsciously, I typed in Stuttgart again, and found a map of the Earth with its coordinates at the bottom. I took a mental picture before I could regret my decision, and closed my laptop, destination in tow.

A few seconds later I found myself in Kylee's doorway, watching in proud amusement at my sister coloring in her coloring book. About a minute passed until she noticed me standing, and she greeted, "Hi."

I forced a smile and said, "Ky, I'm going to be working on something very important in my room, so I'd love it if you didn't come in. I don't know when I'll be done, so don't get worried if I don't come out for a long time, kay?"

After processing the request, Kylee nodded slowly, and strode over to give her a hug. "No matter what happens, you're going to be fine,"

"Um...okay," my sister responded simply, pulling out of the embrace, and returning to her coloring book. As much as I hated lying through my teeth to the four year old who trusted my more than anyone else in the world, it had to be done, for the sake of not only Dad, but for her own good as well.

Instead of taking a seat once more at my desk, I went to the window, and shoved it open. I climbed out onto the fire escape, and attempted to close the window as quietly as possible. It slammed shut, but even if Kylee heard it, she shrugged it off, so I was in the clear. Sort of.

In silence, I dashed up the metal stairs, until I reached the top of the apartment building. Usually, when I came to the roof, it was when I wanted to be alone, or let off some steam, but in this case, it was urgent. I placed myself in the dead center of the concrete, at least twenty feet from every edge.

I encouraged myself to take deep breaths, even though I wasn't even sure if what I was about to attempt would even work or not. Closing my eyes, I concentrated my focus on the prickling in my chest. Eventually, after several minutes, the prickling grew into a pulsing, and my senses dulled. Waves of energy flowed in every part of my body, as well as a painfully familiar feeling, although this time it was calming, instead of the fire that I felt the last time. All was quiet, except for my thudding heart beat steadily growing louder, until silence came. I inhaled, and kept my eyes clenched shut, in hopes it had worked.

Cracking open one eye, I realized I wasn't feeling hate, or pain, just a regular warm updraft. I opened both eyes all the way, and took note of the new sensations I felt. The pulsing, which was emanating from the ice crystal embedded in my chest, was subsiding, and I felt air rushing into powerful lungs when I breathed.

Slightly dazed from what I had accomplished, I took note of my new figure. Now that I wasn't controlled by an evil guy who caused the accident, it was pretty cool being a thirty foot tall icy reptilian with wings.

'An ice dragon,' I thought. 'That's what this is.'

Suddenly, I was reminded of the whole reason why I had even attempted shifting into the new form, and I flexed my wings with a wingspan that would make a plane proud. I pushed down with an incredible force, and was lifted a few feet off the roof. The building below let out a creak from the release of the new weight.

'This isn't too hard,' I told myself, flapping a good number of times so that I was unrecognizable from the ground. It wouldn't do me any good to have reports of a dragon-like creature flying about New York, so I maintained a steady altitude just below grazing the clouds.

My mind flashed back to the picture of the general way to Germany, so I figured out where east was, and positioned myself as such. Knowing of the long trip ahead, I planted myself in a somewhat autopilot mode, and spaced out into a loose form of meditation that kept a stiff hold on my intentions.

'I sure hope I'm right.'

* * *

**I'm still unsure of an exact upload schedule, but it'll probably be a chapter every Friday or Saturday, maybe a little extra chapter in between. Speaking of extra chapters, next chapter will be Ren's backstory, and an explanation of her powers. Thanks for reading~!**


	4. The Chapter With a Backstory

On September 19, 1996, in Miami, Florida, Lillian Patricia Todd Cooper, and Ethan Florence Cooper gave birth to a healthy baby girl: Renee Elizabeth. Nicknamed Ren quite early, she was a quiet baby, rather curious too, as is with most newborns. Ren's parents strived to be the best parents possible, and their daughter reflected that. The trio's bond was unbreakable, and they were more than just related; they were best friends.

Right before his daughter entered third grade, Ethan took his two favorite girls on a camping trip near the Everglades. While her parents weren't watching, Ren wandered off into a thickly wooded part of the campsite. She noticed a patch of flowers, and wanted to make a gift out of them, so for a few crucial minutes, her attention was focused completely on picking wildflowers.

Little did she know, those flowers would affect the rest of her life in a way more horrific than she would have ever known. Right at that moment, a meteor hurtled toward Earth from an uncharted planet millions of lightyears away. With deadly (OH GOD THAT WAS A TERRIBLE PUN) accuracy, the poor seven year old was hit square in the chest, dead before she hit the ground.

The meteor, a parasite, had other plans than having a dead host body, so the girl was reanimated, but with a new soul, an alien soul. The meteor was sent from a planet called Kinion, home to the Fristryun, a wise race with hearts of ice. With decisions never clouded by emotions, the Fristryun were that of a curious race, constantly urged with the need to learn. A recent discovery of the humans, piqued the alien race's interest, so they decided to send one of their own for research.

They extracted the essence of an unborn hatchling (yes, they hatch from eggs), and placed it inside an enchanted homing meteor, that which would hit a relatively young child. Of course, the newborn would retain all the memories of the human, unknown of its true and only purpose, but that would be sorted out later after enough information was gathered. So, the missile was sent intent on a general target, that target being, with great misfortune, the late Renee Cooper.

The parasite, or as it knew, the new Ren, continued on her merry way as if nothing had ever happened. She presented her parents the flowers, with a brief scolding, but was quickly forgiven. For the following six years, life went on as it should without incident.

On March 16, 2008, a new baby was welcomed into the family. Kylee Rose Cooper, or Kylee was the polar opposite of Ren's newborndom, and was a complete wild child. However, that didn't stop her from having one of the most affectionate families ever. Since she first saw her new little sister, Ren fell in love with the hyperactive infant, and like her parents, tried to be the best older sister possible.

The Cooper family was a happy family. They had a nice house only a walk away from the beach, with friendly neighbors to boot. The two adults held steady jobs, Lillian was the co-owner of Tiger Lily Garden Emporium, and Ethan found contact with with Stark Industries, and worked in the public relations department. Kylee was growing fast, and Ren held relatively good grades in school. Yes, the Coopers were one of the happiest people you'd ever meet, until the day that's known only as "the accident".

Ethan was off in Malibu, visiting the one and only Tony Stark for a personal consultation, and Kylee was in daycare, so the house seemed empty with only half the family occupying it. Lillian took the day off to have some one-on-one mother/daughter time with Ren. In the middle of a very intense game of Parcheesi, the doorbell rang, and Ren went to go get it.

Standing in front of the house was a pale man wearing sunglasses and a long black trenchcoat, despite the seventy-five degree weather. Unbeknownst to Ren, the man was one of the Fristryun, come to check on the experiment. This particular Fristryun was a bit...sadistic, if you will, and decided to prematurely coax out Ren's inner power. Things went as planned for him, but Ren was not so lucky.

Without natural coming-of-age, the freshly drawn out beast was hungry, ready to kill, blinded from any emotion in a natural Fristryun state. The dragonlike creature killed Lillian, and destroyed most of the house, but as soon as the damage was done, Ren was back to herself, curled under a pile of rubble sobbing quietly at what she had witnessed from the inside. The meteorite, previously embedded deep within Ren, had surfaced, taking a permanent spot on her chest in place of human heart.

A neighbor had heard the roars and crashes, and called 9-1-1. Rescuers recovered Ren and Lillian's body, blaming the incident on a gas leak. As soon as Ethan was notified, he was rushed straight back to Florida. For a few weeks, the three remaining Coopers lived with some neighbors, left alone to mourn the death of Lillian.

At the funeral, with great condolences, Tony Stark attends with an offer of a new place in New York, across from the site of his new planned building. Ethan accepted, and Ren, although sad she would move away from her friends and loved ones, was ready to start fresh, in hopes of leaving the accident behind. A month later, the Coopers were happily settled in a new apartment, accident stored in the back of their minds, but never forgotten.

Renee found new friends, a new school, and Ethan was happy to work from home so he could be closer to his daughters, but nothing filled the empty void left from the accident.

**Powers and Explanations:**

**-Ice Manipulation-** This is the basic ability all Fristryun acquire as hatchlings. It allows the user to freeze and defrost objects at will. Defrosting only applies to manually frozen objects. Cannot produce ice out of thin air. As Ren has no formal training of this, she can only freeze parts of objects and small quantities of water. Sometimes lets it out accidentally.

**-Shapeshifting into Ice Creature- **All Fristryun have two forms: a humanshape, and an ice creature. The form varies with every individual, and the creatures resemble both Earth animals, mythical animals, and extraterrestrial animals. Ren's creature is a Dragon. Despite being thirty feet tall, Ren's creature form is considered puny by Fristryun standards. Powers she acquires in her dragon form include:

-Frost Breath- An ability owned by all creatures, a special gas exhaled through the lungs form ice crystals whenever they breathe out. Unless controlled, it can be inconvenient at times whenever one wants to breath.

-Telepathy- Since creatures do not possess vocal chords capable of speech, telekinesis was eventually adapted into the genes. It's pretty much just like talking with a Bluetooth. No, there's not any mind reading involved.

-Clairvoyant Scales- Depending on the creature, whether with feathers, fur, or scales, (scales/shards in Ren's case), the underbelly is covered with special ice shards that can be tracked wherever they are. They cannot be destroyed, but must be used extremely wisely, as the underbelly of any creature is the most vulnerable part.

-Flying- This is pretty self explanatory. Exclusive to creatures with wings.

-Tooth and Claw- The creature equivalent of hand to hand combat. Tails can also be utilized.

-Cold Resistance- The Fristryun can withstand temperatures down till Absolute Zero, where the body immediately encases itself in ice, in a form of hibernation.

**-Time Manipulation- **An extremely rare ability usually only found in the oldest Fristryun, this allows the user to stop time itself (only stop and start it back up again) for any extended period of time. However, when time resumes, the user will take a toll on their health depending on how long time was frozen. Cannot be used until the time spent frozen has passed in real time.

Ice and Time Manipulation were both discovered on accident. Ren has only frozen time once, and she flipped out when it happened. Fortunately, it was only for about an hour.

**Weaknesses:**

-Heat. Huuuuuuge weakness.

-Um, I can't think of anymore weaknesses.

* * *

**Don't expect updates this often. I just have a lot of free time right now, and I'm bored.**


	5. The Chapter That Involves Sightseeing

Flying is just like swimming, but with less water and more clouds. At first, it's pretty amazing seeing the world at a bird's eye view, but once you hit the ocean, it gets old really fast. I could've sworn I'd fallen asleep, it was so boring, but I willed myself not to crash land on my first flight.

I figured I'd be flying for a good chunk of the day, so I calculated the time difference, and by the time I would arrive, the party would be just starting. Twenty minutes passed, and I finally spotted land once more. Although it wasn't Germany, I was glad not to have to stare at the Atlantic Ocean any more with only the occasional seagull or fishing boat.

France passed within half an hour, even though I was dying to see all that the country had to offer, and Belgium was gone before I could blink. I slowed down once I arrived over Germany. My mind flashed back to the map, and I instinctively led myself in the direction I remembered. Mentally thanking myself for the photographic memory, I halted over was I guessed was Stuttgart, given the night was cloudy, and I was a few thousand feet in the air.

My internal sonar was going crazy, so I searched for a good place to land. Since landing in the middle of one of Germany's largest cities wasn't an option, I took the opportunity of a nearby deserted field, and plopped down. I shifted back to my regular form, and took off toward the location of the party.

By the time I arrived at the building, I was completely out of breath, so I guessed being a freaky dragon didn't give me extra stamina. Crouching down behind a bush in front of the hall, I stopped for a breather.

Fifteen minutes passed, and there was no sign of Dad. Was my instinct wrong? Did I really do the thing I forbade myself to ever attempt and fly around the world in one day for nothing?

Before I could question myself further, a piercing chorus of screams echoed from the party. I shifted around the bush to give myself a view of the hall just in time to see partygoers flooding out through the doors, pushing and shoving to get away. Blue eyes searched frantically for the face of my dad, but he was nowhere to be found. Near the back of the crowd, a confident looking man in black and green strode out, armor shimmering on his body, then materializing, complete with a pointy-looking scepter and horned helmet.

I watched with horrified eyes as the man copied himself into four, one positioned in each point of the lot in front of the building, cornering the crowd.

"Kneel before me," he commanded.

'What are you, king of the cockroaches or something?' I snickered to myself at his Shakespearean-esque armor.

King of Bugs didn't like being ignored, I could tell from the enraged look on his face. "I said, KNEEL!"

Holy shit, this guy was scary when mad. The partygoers had no other choice than to kneel, being completely surrounded and all. I tried silencing my breath, so I wouldn't get caught.

King of Bugs chuckled, then continued. "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?"

I stifled a giggle. "Yup, because we always bow to bugs."

"It's-"

Uh-oh. Did I say that out loud? My question was answered by a stern face glaring down at me from above the bush.

"Um...hi?"

I was easily lifted by my jacket collar, out of the bushes as I squirmed and flailed wildly in his grasp.

"Were you not taught to respect your elders, child? Let alone your king?"

Rolling my eyes, I shot back, "Who made you king? Did you marry the Cockroach queen?" Oops. Curse my tendency to speak before I think!

The Bug King's cheeks flushed slightly at my remark, but he only gripped me tighter. Scepter glowing madly in one hand, he turned to the still kneeling crow, and announced. "Look at this foolish youth. Let her be an example."

As he raised the scepter, I braced for impact. Instead, I heard a loud, "OW!", and was dropped to the ground. Stealing the opportunity to escape I scrambled back to the bushes, and watched the scene unfold.

My savior was a flash of red, white, and blue; a shield. The object returned to the thrower, and my eyes widened.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing." The spangly patriotic suit was the giveaway; I was standing in the presence of Captain America.

My inner comic book nerd squealed in delight, as King of Bugs hissed, "The soldier. The man out of time." Someone had been doing his share of comic book reading.

"I'm not the one who's out of time."

Ooh, burn! The whirrs of a helicopter attracted everyone's attention, and up in the air was a heavily armed aircraft. This guy must mean serious business, if the government's got them aiming guns at him.

A female voice echoed from the helicopter, "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." So his name was Loki...wasn't he some Norse god?

Loki apparently didn't enjoy being told what to do, so he fired a beam of bright blue light at the aircraft. The pilot skillfully dodged it, and the Captain took the opening to throw his shield again. It hit Loki square on the stomach, and the crowd seized the chance to escape. The plaza was emptied quickly, save for the Captain and Loki fighting hand to hand, and me watching in awe from a bush. Yep, I had my priorities straight: Cool fighting scene in real life verses personal safety. Pfft, who needs safety?

At one point, I thought Loki had the Captain, but he replied with a swift kick to the side. I was watching in somewhat cruel amusement as they kicked each other's asses, until "Shoot to Thrill" came onto the PA system, and the two men paused their fighting in momentary confusion as to where the music was coming from.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted a familiar red streak flying from around a building. Wait, Mr. Tony was working with Captain America? The palms of the Iron Man suit glowed brightly, then blasted Loki onto the stairsteps. He landed in a semi-battle pose, and a bunch of mean-looking weapons revealed themselves on the suit.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games," Tony threatened, but all King of the Bugs did was stare. The weapons disappeared into the suit, and he walked up next to the Captain. "Good move," he noted when Loki raised his hands in surrender.

"Mr. Stark," the Captain greeted.

"Captain," Tony replied.

"Uh, hello," I called, and the two heroes turned in my direction. I gave an awkward wave, as the mask on the Iron Man suit lifted to reveal a stunned Tony.

"Wait, Renee? How the hell'd you get here?" he asked incredulously.

The Captain kept switching views between Tony and I, and said, "You know her?"

"Um, yeah. We're...neighbors," I laughed nervously, trying to avoid eye contact. "I guess I'll just be going now..."

"Wait." The razor sharp edge in Tony's voice stopped me in my tracks. He grabbed my arm, and led me to the aircraft, which had landed.

The cargo door opened, and with Loki and the Captain following us, I was ushered into the helicopter. The first few minutes of flight were silent, I just stared at the ground opposite from Loki, who was doing the same. Tony was pacing, and the Captain just leaned against the wall, but his tone was tinged with worry.

"I'm not sure whether to be more concerned at how easy it was to capture the enemy, or that we found your neighbor in Germany."

Tony waved a hand at the first option, then turned to me, and asked again, "Seriously, though, how? And why?"

"Umm...magic?" I offered, but being the science nerd he was, Tony wasn't buying it. He opened his mouth to ask again, but was interrupted by a crash of thunder and lightning, followed by gales of heavy rain.

The ginger in front, who was piloting, wondered aloud, "Where's this coming from?"

Loki glanced out the front window worriedly, then the Captain asked, "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?"

Recomposing himself, the King of Bugs replied "I'm not overly fond of what follows." There was another flash of lightning, then a thump on the top of the aircraft. I gripped my seat tightly, afraid of what would come to pass.

Tony and the Captain looked at eachother, then Tony put on his helmet. I decided not to question him, but when he willingly opened the cargo hold, I yelled, "Are you crazy? Letting the thing out there in?!"

So there we were, in a violent storm, door open for all the world to see, and a strange man with a hammer on the open door. Before turning to attack, Tony replied, "A little." When he turned back, he was met with a hammer to the face, and was flung almost on top of me. I let out a girly shriek as the strange man grabbed Loki, and jumped out of the helicopter.

"Okay, I've seen enough weird shit today, I'd like to go home now," I squeaked, but it went unheard as the ginger looked back and said, "Another Asgardian?"

Asgard? The heck was Asgard? As I buried myself in thought about what Asgard was, the Captain and Tony had a small argument about something to do with attacking. When I snapped back to reality, all three original male passengers were gone, and the cargo door was closing.

As suddenly as it came, the storm had subsided, and the female pilot asked, "You okay back there?"

"Yeah."

"You sure? Most people would freak if they witnessed what you just saw."

I gave a small smile. "I'm not most people."

"Hmm. What's your name kid?" I detected the amusement in her voice.

"Renee Cooper, I go by Ren."

"Agent Natasha Romanov." She paused for a moment to press a few buttons. The aircraft lurched in a tight turnaround, and we declined gently before she continued. "So what were you doing in Germany?"

"Um...I was...-"

BOOM!

A loud clang, and a crash of light emanated from the forest below. The trees were flattened for hundreds of yards, and in the middle of the newly created clearing were three men, and a fourth on an adjacent cliff.

"Hey look, people we should probably get." I was glad I could change the subject for the time being, but I knew I couldn't stall forever.

'What have I gotten myself into...?"

* * *

**WHY AM I UP AT TWO IN THE MORNING WRITING THIS? I suppose I'm running purely on fangirl power now. Don't expect updates this often in the future. Or should you? MWAHAHAHA!**


	6. The Chapter With Family Drama

Have you ever had a moment that was so awkward, no one spoke for a while? Well, take that, add two pilots, 3 sweaty guys with superpowers, and one of the sweaty guys' evil brother. That's how I felt on the ride back to...wherever the hell we were going. I had scrunched myself up as far as possible against Natasha's seat. Loki's brother, Thor, kept him trapped in a corner of the aircraft, and the Captain and Tony were lounging on multiple seats.

Fortunately, the ride wasn't long, and eventually, a huge airship came into view with plenty of other similar helicopters landed along the edges. Every man and woman looked like they had somewhere to be, and as soon as we landed, Tony dragged me inside.

Leaving me no time to marvel at the advanced technology. he led me to a somewhat secluded room, and pressed a button. For the few seconds I was looking around the room, Tony seemed to have replaced his Iron Man suit for a much classier one.

My jaw dropped, "How did you-? Wait, don't answer that, I don't want to know."

I was sat down in a chair, and Tony commanded, "Don't move until I get back."

"Ugh, fine," I groaned, lounging back to look at the ceiling. After I heard Tony's footsteps fade, I leapt out of the chair, and dashed down the hallway. I slowed down when I heard voices, and pressed flat against a door. The door slid open and I did a backwards crab crawl inside.

I heard the voices pass, and once the hallway was silent, I opened the door. Well, tried to at least. I wasn't the best with technology, and while I was struggling to slide the door back open, a voice came from behind, saying, "I hadn't the idea they recruited this young."

Whirling around, I faced a circular room with a transparent prison in the center. In that certain transparent prison, Loki stood with a slight sneer, hands crossed behind his back.

"'They' don't," I spat, still bitter about him attempting to kill me earlier. "Who is 'they', anyways?"

Loki raised an eyebrow. "They bring you to their floating fortress, in the midst of a crisis, with not a simple explanation? And yet you trust them?"

Shrugging, I replied, "Not everyone, but I trust Tony. And Captain America, even though he's supposed to be dead. I'm not sure about most everyone else though. But I certainly don't trust you." I hissed the last word, but Loki just chuckled.

"Have you ever thought why you were brought here? That-"

"Questioning," I interrupted.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Questioning. I, the daughter of the head of public and social relations department at Stark Industries magically showed up in Stuttgart, Germany despite living in New York, with no possible way of transportation. They wanted to know, so I'll give it to them. It's not like they'd believe me anyways."

The Bug King looked unsure of how to respond. Finally he said, "Why would you agree to supply them with this information?"

"Well, considering I could get arrested if I resist if this is part of the government, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet. Even if this isn't the government, they have guns and trained assassins , and what do I have? The pow-" I cut myself off to see Loki looking at me expectantly. "Oh, look at the time!" I quickly changed the subject, glancing at an invisible watch. "I must be going. Toodles!"

I swung around to the door sliding open again, an irritated looking Tony taking up the doorway. He had made yet another costume change, this time into a Black Sabbath t-shirt and jeans.

"Fraternizing with the enemy, I see. You'd make a good SHIELD agent," he teased ruffling my hair. His tone did a one-eighty, and he ordered, "Come with me."

I sighed loudly, and followed him down the hall in the opposite direction I had come from, and we entered a bland looking room. The walls were a dull gray, and all the furniture that occupied the room was a metal chair attached to the floor. Tony motioned for me to sit down, so I did, and he was replaced with a familiar ginger.

"Um, hi?" I greeted weakly, but I could tell the agent wasn't in the best of moods.

"Why were you in Germany at the exact location we were sent to retrieve Loki?"

Slightly surprised why she didn't ask the other major question of my presence, and I was thankful for that. I took a deep breath and replied, "It's kind of a long story."

"I have time."

Knowing it would be pointless to argue, I continued, "My dad. I...have reason to believe he was kidnapped. When I woke up this morning, he was gone, and I got a text that said only 'Stuttgart, tonight'. I did a bit of research, and found out about the fancy party, so I guess it was my best bet."

Natasha nodded in understanding, then asked, "Why didn't you contact the officials?"

"Because I didn't want to worry my little sis-OH CRAP KYLEE!" I suddenly remembered that I had left my four year old sister in our apartment alone.

"Who's Kylee?"

"My little sister. I didn't want to worry her about the disappearance of my dad, so I told her he went on a business trip. I took matters into my own hands, because I thought I could handle it, and be back by tonight."

"And what makes you think you could've done this all by yourself?" The question I had been dreading seemed to float in the air as the words were said.

"I...I...because, um...Ihavesupernaturalpowersandca nturnintoadragonbutIdidn'twanttousethembeacusetheygot mymomkilledandIdidn'twanttochancehurtinganyoneel sesoIdiditwithouttellinganyo neandnoonewouldbelievemeanyw ay." I took a huge breath after spilling the truth. The agent held and unreadable expression in response, and I shifted my eyes to the floor to avoid eye contact.

After a few silent minutes, Natasha spoke. "Is all this true?"

I nodded slowly. "Every word."

Lifting a hand to her ear, the agent said, "Director Fury, your presence is requested in IR-4."

I knew I was in deep trouble if they had to call in the director of this whole operation. I continued to stare at the ground until I heard the door open.

"Director, this is the girl we found in Stuttgart. I'm assuming you heard her confessions." I looked up to see a tall, dark man with an eyepatch over his left eye.

"Yes, I did." He turned to me. "If this is the truth, then I want to showcase what you can do."

"Are you sure I won't be, uh, apprehended?" If what the movies said about the government's reactions to aliens was true, I would probably be shot on the spot if I showed any sign of abnormality.

"Unless I give the command to fire, you are safe," Fury replied in a monotone.

"Okay, then. May I have a glass? Preferably with water in it?" The pair looked at eachother, then at me, and Natasha left the room. A few minutes later, she returned with my request, and handed it to me.

I took the glass of water, and blinked. When I opened my eyes, the object, water and all, was completely frozen. "Ta da," I said quietly, and Fury took the glass. "In case you wanted to know, it only works on small amounts of water, the most I can do is about a gallon, and on small objects, the biggest being a pillow."

The two observed the glass for a while, then the director whispered something to Natasha. She nodded, and Fury left the room.

"He's taking it for testing. However, that doesn't explain how you got to Stuttgart without an aircraft in a matter of hours."

"Yeah, about that..." I trailed off. "We're going to need to go outside for that."

"Come with me."

I followed the agent out of the room, and retraced the steps Tony had taken to from the helicopter. We walked by numerous laboratories, one of which I noticed a small group of scientists prodding my recently frozen glass. Another contained Tony and another man, who looked to be tracking something. I decided not to ask about it, since it clearly was none of my business.

With the whoosh of one last automated door, we were on the deck of the airborne carrier. The night was probably chilly; I couldn't tell from my heightened resistance to the cold. There was a large area around us were the space was unoccupied, and I centered myself in it.

Before I changed, I took one last glance at Natasha. "Remember, no shooting, kay?"

"Of course."

Only slightly relieved by her words, I inhaled deeply, and closed my eyes. The soothing feeling returned from the last time, and I relaxed as the pulsating started again. As the pulsing faded, I opened my eyes, and my view was a few stories higher than normal.

I turned to the agent, who was frozen in shock. Literally, frozen. Cocking my head, I took the couple steps toward her, and let out a soft growl. She wasn't moving. In fact, nothing was moving at all. There was no sound, and I did a mental facepalm.

'Oops,' I thought, realizing what I had accidentally done.

About a year ago, I came home from school one day, and the world around me was frozen in time. After I finished flipping out for a good hour, I willed time to resume, and it did as if nothing had happened. No incidents had occurred since then, and I was hoping for a streak of none following, but as life would have it, I stopped the world turning. Twice.

Being the rebellious, yet responsible teeanger I was, I took the chance to escape. Sure, I was willing to tell them the truth, though I thought it would've been easier just leaving and playing dumb. Thought.

I had been flying for about an hour when the waves of the ocean began churning again. I swore mentally, then upped my speed to ensure the giant aircraft wouldn't catch me after realizing I had ditched them.

A couple hours later, I was really getting exhausted by all the flight I had been doing in the past twenty-four hours. Fortunately for me, I could see land ahead, and flew at max speed toward the faint New York skyscrapers. I touched down on the apartment building, and quickly shifted back, almost tripping down the fire escape in my rush. My window was still unlocked, and I barely reclosed it to make sure Kylee was okay.

"Kylee?" I called, but I was met with silence. Fear gripped me as I burst through the front door, dashed down the hallway, and into the elevator. My sister was smart; she knew if neither Dad and I were home, she would go straight to the Phillips'.

The Phillips included my best friend Eleanor, and her younger twin brother and sister who were Kylee's age, and close friends. I couldn't stop fidgeting on the short three-floor ride up to floor thirty-two, and I nearly fell on an elderly woman in an attempt to flee the elevator as quickly as possible.

"Sorry, Mrs. Hansworth." No sooner had I breathed out the apology, I was in front of my friend's front door.

I knocked furiously, and from the inside I heard, "Hold your horses, I'm coming." The door opened to Eleanor, who looked pleased yet frustrated at me at the same time. "Ky, your sister's here!" she yelled into the apartment.

She turned back to me, and scolded, "Where were you? I woke up one in the morning to your four-year-old sister bawling and claiming you had disappeared "just like Daddy". What in Celestia's name was she talking about, and where was your sorry ass?"

"Um...late night grocery shopping?" I suggested weakly, but Ellie wasn't going to accept that as an answer.

"You owe me and your sister bigtime, Ren," she hissed, as Kylee walked out of the other room, twins in tow.

"I'm sorry Ky," I apologized, but she tipped her nose, and turned her back to me. Groaning, I tried a different approach. "How about to make up for it we go to Harry's Pizza, then get some ice cream after?"

That seemed to get her attention. She glared at me, then strided out of the apartment, down the hallway. Before I could follow suit, Ellie stopped me.

"But seriously, what is this nonsense about your dad disappearing?"

I waved a hand as if it was nothing, despite it being far from that. "My dad just got called really early yesterday morning on an emergency call, but she thinks he was kidnapped. It's nothing really."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "It didn't seem like nothing to me..."

"Renny, come on!" Kylee yelled from the elevator.

"Gotta go! See you 'round!"

As my friend sighed loudly, I found myself with Ky waiting in front of the elevator.

"So-"

"I'm not talking to you," the four year old interrupted, and I rolled my eyes.

"Look, Ky, you don't have to talk to me, but...there's something you should know. About me, and where I was," I confessed. There were few options I had to regain my sister's trust, and I figured I'd get the inevitable out of the way. The elevator dinged open, and Kylee stretched to push the floor button.

"There's...things I can do, and I really want to show you, but you have to promise never to tell anybody. Not even Daddy."

My sister opened her mouth to say something, then quickly shut it, using a nod instead. We returned to our own apartment, and I gestured for Kylee to sit down on the couch.

"Wait here for a sec," I instructed, and she obediently sat down. I headed to the kitchen, and retrieved a glass, filled it with water, and got a sense of deja vu.

Placing the glass on the coffee table I inhaled deeply. "Ready, Ky?"

* * *

**Sorry for not updating recently, life got in my way. So...yeah.**


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